Meghan Markle mourned the loss of her dear friend Gloria Steinem in an emotional Instagram post on Thursday.
The Duchess of Sussex said she was “celebrating the life and legacy of my friend and mentor,” and was “grateful to know that in these last few weeks and days she knew exactly how loved and admired she was.”
The feminist icon’s death was announced by her foundation on Thursday. In a statement, the foundation said that Steinem, 92, “passed away peacefully at her home in New York City” on Wednesday.
Meghan spoke of a bracelet that Steinem gave her, and shared intimate memories of their friendship and work together.
“Publicly, we did interviews together, called young voters to encourage them to have their voices heard, attended award ceremonies, and brainstormed how to help this beautiful yet complicated world to become more equitable,” the royal wrote.
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
“But privately, she was even better than you would imagine,” Meghan said. “Spending Thanksgiving with our family, introducing me to one of my best friends (forever the champion of female friendship), loving our children with her whole heart, counseling me during hard times, and giving extraordinary advice and perspective with a cup of tea and an unrivaled cheekiness and wit.”
“But my very favorite story about GLO is when she was out one day in NY, and a woman approached her in absolute awe and said she wanted to introduce her young daughter to her (though she was embarrassed to say the young girl may not know who she was),” Meghan shared. “Gloria replied: ‘It doesn’t matter if she knows who I am. What matters is that she knows who SHE is.’”
The As Ever founder ended her meaningful message by writing, “Rest in peace, and rest in pride. Look at what you’ve done for all of us. Thank you.”
At the 2023 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards, Steinem presented the duchess with a Woman of Vision Award. Meghan thanked Steinem “for the inspiration that you are, for your mentorship, your sage advice, your extraordinarily cheeky sense of humor and, of course, for your incredible friendship.”
The two also memorably appeared together for a wide-ranging talk about voter suppression and feminism in August 2020.
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images